The Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, by virtue of its mandate, is expected to lead the way on how public institutions can use information communication technology to drive their operations and seek public trust. And for the fact that it is run by a technocrat, people would expect so much from the ministry in terms of embracing a new approach to engage the public.
Sadly, the ministry is not different from others in the manner it conducts its public communication.
Its website and other social medial platforms do not reflect the kind of openness and instantaneity people expect communication departments of ministries, departments and agencies to embrace.
For instance, on the website of the ministry that is supposed to transit the country to a digital age, some people may expect to see a medium like the live-chat forum that enables them to chat with officials of the ministry.
Indeed, modern organisations are embracing live chats and other ‘open’ modes of communication rather than the archaic “drop a mail” practice. But the ministry is still lagging behind.
In response to a growing need for a prompt feedback, a number of organisations now make provision for dedicated telephone numbers. Many MDAs have employed this, as far back as the days of cellular telephone, except that the lines are, unlike in the case of private firms, hardly functional.
Yet, the Ministry of Communication Technology does not have any dedicated telephone line through which its officials could be reached. The only means of communication opened to the public is an email address –roundtable@commtech.gov.ng.
Still, emails sent to the address are rarely acknowledged, much less attended to. Our correspondent had sent an email to the ministry via the contact address on Monday morning.
But as of press time in the evening, no acknowledgement mail had been received – not even an auto response that some organisations give.
Like other MDAs, the purpose of the ministry’s website may have stopped at publicity. The homepage beams with slides of photographs of the minister, Mrs. Omobolaji Johnson.
The page also contains a cluster of links to policy documents concerning different initiatives being pursued by the Jonathan administration. These include the National Broadband Pan, the ICT policies and eGovernment Initiatives.
Whereas there is a 100-page National Broadband Plan that the ministry intends to pursue to achieve broadband development targets between 2013 and 2018, the website says little or nothing about what the government has achieved so far.
There is also no much data to show how the country has fared under the current administration in terms of technology advancement. But a few reports of privately-sponsored researches are posted.
For instance, a particular report on the website, which is attributed to a multinational company, claims that about 85 per cent of Nigerians use smartphones. Obviously, the ministry reports it to showcase the country’s technological advancement, even though not many people may agree with the claim.
But the social media platforms of the ministry are not as dormant as the ones operated by the Ministry of Finance and a few other MDAs.
Yet, what appears like a common feature among the public institutions also applies to the Ministry of Communication Technology – it throws information at its fans without engaging them.
Social media, as argued by experts, are built on the need to engage in conversations, hence the cliché: chat. But many MDAs, including the Ministry of Communication Technology, may have erroneously thought of them as traditional communication channels.
Hence, they visit the platforms to send messages and log out not minding those who want to discuss the issues raised.
For the Ministry of Communication Technology, Facebook and Twitter are but just news channels.
Last week, the ministry tweeted Johnson’s statements, calling on operators on .ng registry to “double their efforts to serve the Nigerian Internet community better.”
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